Context-aware network-based malicious activity warning systems

Abstract

A computer system is configured to generate alerts related to malicious activity on an audited computing system. The computing system is provided with instructions to receive activity information associated with activity of an entity performed in an audited computing network, access contextual information associated with the entity, determine, based on the contextual information, a set of weights associated with the activity information and combine the weight and the entity activity information to generate a risk score. In response to the risk score satisfying a threshold value, the computer system may generate an alert, and, in response to receiving a user input associated with the alert, update the set of weights. In certain embodiments, the updated weights may be used for determining the risk score of future alerts.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computing system configured to generate an alert related to malicious activity, the computing system comprising:
 a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith; and 
 one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions to cause the computing system to:
 receive a plurality of indicators of potentially malicious activity associated with an entity; 
 select, based at least in part on contextual information associated with the entity, a set of weights to apply to the plurality of indicators of potentially malicious activity; 
 determine, based at least in part on the set of weights and the plurality of indicators, a risk score indicative of a probability of malicious activity of the entity; and 
 in response to the risk score satisfying a threshold value, generate an alert. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the contextual information comprises organizational roles, wherein set of weights is selected from a plurality of sets of weights, wherein the plurality of sets of weights are associated with different organizational roles, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 in response to receiving an input associated with the alert, update the set of weights. 
 
     
     
       3. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 store the plurality of sets of weights in a two-dimensional table, extending along a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, wherein each row in the plurality of rows corresponds to an indicator, and wherein each column in the plurality of columns corresponds to a context of the entity. 
 
     
     
       4. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 in response to the risk score not satisfying the threshold, randomly determine whether or not to generate the alert for presentation to a user. 
 
     
     
       5. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 generate user interface data configured to be rendered as a user interface including at least:
 an indication of the alert, 
 a historic comparison comprising information about one or more similar prior alerts, and 
 a graphical representation of activity of the entity. 
 
 
     
     
       6. The computing system of  claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 provide a first view of the user interface presenting a plurality of alerts, wherein the first view comprises, for each alert in the plurality of alerts, a first graphical representation of activity of the entity related to the alert; 
 receive a selection of a selected alert from the plurality of alerts; and 
 provide a second view of the user interface including additional information related to the selected alert, wherein the second view of the user interface includes a second graphical representation of activity of the entity related to the selected alert, 
 wherein the second graphical representation represents similar data as the first graphical representation and the second graphical representation is larger in size than the first graphical representation. 
 
     
     
       7. The computing system of  claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 configure the user interface to present a plurality of alerts, wherein the plurality of alerts are sorted according to respective associated risk scores. 
 
     
     
       8. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein different weights from the set of weights are applied to different corresponding indicators of the plurality of indicators. 
     
     
       9. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 receive a comment from an auditor corresponding to the alert; 
 store the comment in association with the alert; and 
 provide the comment when providing the alert for display in a user interface. 
 
     
     
       10. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the contextual information comprises as least one of: a role of the entity in an organization, a department associated with the entity, an indication whether the entity has been found to previously have engaged in a malicious activity, an indication whether the entity's department has been found to previously have engaged in a malicious activity, an access history of the entity, an indication of an association of the entity with a competitor, an indication whether the entity has unsuccessfully attempted to access a computer resource of the organization, a policy violation of the entity, or an indication of whether the entity is allowed to access a particularly sensitive information. 
     
     
       11. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the alert comprises information that at least partly indicates the contextual information that contributed to the risk score satisfying the threshold value. 
     
     
       12. The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the indicators are determined from at least one of: email logs, print logs, proxy logs, Data Loss Prevention logs, operating system logs, web server logs, database server logs, voice over IP server logs, firewall logs, wireless access point logs, or intrusion detection system logs. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 update the weights of the set of weights for a future alert based on an auditor's response to the alert. 
 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 1 , the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 receive an input in response to the alert; and 
 based on the input, perform at least one of: present the alert to a supervisor, mark the alert as dismissed and update the weights for a future alert, or mark the alert as dismissed without updating the weights for a future alert. 
 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 1 , the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the computing system to:
 receive information related to a prior alert related to the entity; 
 determine whether a prior activity related to the prior alert is similar to a suspicious activity; 
 determine whether the prior activity has been determined to not be malicious; and 
 if the prior activity has been determined not to be malicious, modify the set of weights so as to reduce one or more weights in the set of weights that correspond to the suspicious activity that is similar the prior activity. 
 
     
     
       16. A method of generating an alert related to malicious activity, the method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of indicators of potentially malicious activity associated with an entity; 
 selecting, based at least in part on contextual information associated with the entity, a set of weights to apply to the plurality of indicators of potentially malicious activity; 
 determining, based at least in part on the set of weights and the plurality of indicators, a risk score indicative of a probability of malicious activity of the entity; and 
 in response to the risk score satisfying a threshold value, generating an alert. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 in response to receiving an input associated with the alert, update the set of weights, wherein the contextual information comprises organizational roles, and wherein the plurality of sets of weights are associated with different organizational roles. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 in response to the risk score not satisfying the threshold, randomly determining whether or not to generate the alert for presentation to a user. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 generating user interface data configured to be rendered as a user interface including at least:
 an indication of the alert, 
 a historic comparison comprising information about one or more similar prior alerts, and 
 a graphical representation of activity of the entity. 
 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 providing a first view of the user interface presenting a plurality of alerts, wherein the first view comprises, for each alert in the plurality of alerts, a first graphical representation of activity of the entity related to the alert; 
 receiving a selection of a selected alert from the plurality of alerts; and 
 providing a second view of the user interface including additional information related to the selected alert, wherein the second view of the user interface includes a second graphical representation of activity of the entity related to the selected alert, 
 wherein the second graphical representation represents similar data as the first graphical representation and the second graphical representation is larger in size than the first graphical representation.